Intent
by CrystalIceSweet
Summary: Magic is about intent; so when Harry unconsciously starts pouring magic in to his cooking, he creates something magical no one can resist. At 16, despite being the owner of a 5 star restaurant, his life is normal…until Tony Stark appears with his band of misfits and refuses to leave. Gods, magic, prophecies, bonds, Harry's life will never be the same ever again. SLASH.
1. Prologue

A/N: The original opening has been added back. Enjoy.

* * *

_**PAST**_

* * *

**July 24 1999**

**London, England**

"I think," Uncle Vernon started in that pompous voice of his that generally suggest that what he was about to say should be taken as holy gospel, "that this is a terrible idea."

"I think," Aunt Petunia replied, tone just as pompous, ignoring the way her husband was looking at her, "that this is my decision. Harry needs to start contributing to this family and not be a freeloader."

The last phrase was said with a glare towards the boy in question as if he wasn't already doing the majority of their housework at the tender age of 5. Harry once again found the whole thing highly unfair but kept his mouth shut. He had learned his lesson a few month ago when he had wailed about Dudley getting the last piece of chocolate cake and received a solid tap on his head for his troubles.

"But can't he do something else?" Vernon – there was no other word for it – whined, "It's our food Pet. It's sacred. What if he does something freaky with it?"

"He won't," said Petunia, with the utmost certainty, "Because if he did, he will regret ever being born."

Harry doesn't tell them he already does regret ever being born because that won't do him any good.

"Alright," Vernon finally relented, seeing that Petunia wasn't about to give in no matter how much he protested. "He can cook breakfast tomorrow." He had said it with so much reluctance that it was as if accepting took a great effort on his part; as if he was the one who would be stuck doing all the heavy lifting. Harry resisted the urge to ask him why he was complaining since all he had to do was eat. He didn't though because Harry wasn't an idiot and really didn't want to end the rest of his afternoon locked away in his cupboard.

* * *

**September 20 2001**

**London, England**

"Tell me Harry, what does cooking mean to you?" Mrs. Lily asked, her smile kind and her words soft. She didn't sound bored or distracted like all the other teachers at P.C Primary school when they asked students about their likes and dislikes and actually seemed interested in his answer. Her eyes were twinkling slightly and she looked so happy to be there that Harry couldn't help grinning back at her.

And that was why she was his favorite teacher of all times.

Mrs. Lily taught Home Economics. Although the class wasn't technically supposed to be on the curriculum until high school but P.C Primary decided to do a tone-down version for its elementary division. Mrs. Lily was invited to teach it because she had been a chef before she became a teacher and knew her way around a kitchen. Harry had seen her cook when she did a demonstration for the entire class the first day of term and he had been mesmerized by the swift movements of her hands as she gathered up ingredients and combined them in to a truly delicious dish.

He had asked to have private lessons with her immediately after class. Although he had never really enjoyed cooking up to that moment but the idea of being able to do what Mrs. Lily could do entranced him so much that he was willing to learn.

Mrs. Lily had been surprised that a 7 years old boy like himself would be interested in something so…domestic as cooking but she was more than happy to invest some of her free time afternoon on Fridays to teach him some techniques she had assimilated during her stint as a professional chef. She taught him how to cut properly, how to hold a knife as to not hurt himself. But most importantly, she taught him what it meant to be a chef.

"Cooking is all about intent," Mrs. Lily would tell him over and over again, "If you put your heart and soul in to your dish, people will be able to taste it. That is the true difference between a chef and a master chef."

Harry hadn't understand then what she had meant so Mrs. Lily had simply smiled kindly and assured him he would understand with time.

Under Mrs. Lily's tutelage, Harry flourished. He learnt so much and so quickly that even his teacher was impressed. But most importantly, he was having fun. He had found in Mrs. Lily a mother figure who would nurture him and care for him. It was an entirely new experience for Harry and he was entirely grateful for her. So much that when her birthday came around, he was determined to bake her a chocolate cake knowing that it was her favorite, to show his affection.

Finding the recipe for the cake was easy but actually gathering up all the ingredients was not. Luckily the school had most of them already so Harry didn't have to go out and buy anything.

He poured his entire soul in to that cake, desperate to bake something that Mrs. Lily would love. He wanted to show her just how much her support had meant for him; how much she had helped shape his person.

The ending result was beautiful.

"Oh Harry," she gasped when he had presented it to her, "That's incredible. Let me take a bite."

Harry handed her a fork and she reached out to take a small scoop and put it in to her mouth. Her eyes closed as she chewed and she made a moaning sound.

"How?" She seemed to be at loss for words, gaping at Harry as if she had never seen him before, "How did you manage this? I have never tasted something this good in my whole life."

Harry shrugged even though he was a little bit incredulous himself.

"I put my soul in to it like you said," He replied, face a little red due to her compliments, "And that made all the difference."

* * *

_9 years later, Castle opened its doors for the first time in NY, thanks to its owner Hadrian Potter and quickly rose in fame as celebrities and businessmen alike fell in love with it. _

**_All the critics agree on one thing;_**

**_The food there was simply…irresistible._**

* * *

**_PRESENT_**

* * *

_**On AIR**_

J: Welcome back ladies and gentleman to another exciting episode of The Host, where we talk about the latest trends in the world of music, arts, technology and cooking. I'm your host Jane Lyn.

M: And I am your host Mary Camp.

J: With all that said, today's episode is a special one and do you know why Mary?

M: No Jane. Why is today so special?

J: Well, that is because we have a special guest with us; Hadrian Potter, Head Chef and owner of Castle, voted by more than 20 magazines as the number one spot to visit when you eat out, will be talking with us about his experience as a teenage – yes, you heard me - teenage business man and world renowned Chef. Please give a big round of applause for Hadrian.

_Hadrian comes out._

M: Wow, you are young. How old are you Hadrian?

HP: I'm only 16. I had my birthday a few days ago.

M: Well, happy birthday! Did you celebrate at all?

_Hadrian laughs._

HP: I did actually. Me and some friends went to Miami to celebrate; we actually rented out an entire hotel. It was an incredible experience.

J: Was it the Brickwell hotel?

HP: Yes it was. How did you know?

J: My cousin works there as part of the management team. He told me about it during one our weekly phone calls. But, he mentioned that the hotel had been booked under Bruce Wayne's personal name.

_Hadrian blushes._

HP: It was a birthday gift. A little extravagant I admit, but I couldn't exactly refuse when he already did so much.

M: So it's true then; you are close friends with the CEO of Wayne Enterprises. How does that feel?

HP: Bruce may be rich, but he's really like everyone else. We met at a charity ball he threw a few years back. I was working for a catering company back then and he liked my food so much that he asked me back a few times. We became friends after that. I think he kind of adopted me as a little brother.

M: Does Mr. Wayne give you investment advice? I hear that his portfolio is quite something.

HP: Oh god no. Bruce may be good at many things, but he truly doesn't have the patience to play the stock market. His butler Alfred is the genius behind it all. But Bruce did give me advice on how to negotiate better deals with my suppliers. In addition, I'm not sure if you know this, but he was the one who give me the money to start Castle. He saw that I was wasting my potential slaving away at a company who only pays me minimum wage and offered me a chance to run my own restaurant. I moved to New York after that and Bruce had been there every step of the way.

M: And one year later, you are the youngest self-made millionaire in the country. That must be quite a change.

_Hadrian smiled._

HP: It is, and I won't be humble about it. I worked hard to get where I am and I'm proud of my accomplishments.

M: And we as well. But talking about your accomplishments, how did you start in this field? Were your parents prodigies as well?

HP: My parents are dead actually. They died in a car accident.

M &amp; J: Oh I'm so sorry.

HP: Don't be, it was a long time ago. After they died, I was put in the tender care of my only living relatives. I didn't grow up in a happy home; they already had a son of their own and only saw me as an additional chore. I hadn't been physically abused, but verbal definitely wasn't off the table.

M: Oh god, that's horrible.

J: What happened to those monsters?

_Hadrian laughed a little at that. _

HP: My home economics teacher – incidentally, the one who first taught me the joy of cooking – noticed my depression. I was only 7 at the time and was smaller and weaker than all the other kids. She had been a victim herself so could easily tell signs of abuse. She investigated and found out the truth. She called the cops on them and took me in.

M: Like Oliver Twist.

J: No, Mathilda.

HP: Yeah, a little like that. I was so grateful to her that I was willing to do everything to make her proud of me. Cooking was the easiest since she loved it and I turned out to be quite the little genie.

M: What happened afterwards?

HP: She fell ill when I was 12 and asked a friend of hers to give me a job so that I can support myself if ever something goes wrong. I started working at her friend's catering place while she stayed at the hospital. She died a few months later. I continued my job because I was still a kid with nowhere to go. I was 14 when the Wayne Enterprise job came. Mrs. Amy, the owner of the catering place, hadn't wanted to take me along because having a 14 years old cooking for her was bad publicity. But, I was adamant and she finally relented. Of course, my food had been a success at the function and Bruce Wayne himself found out that I was the one to have cooked it. He didn't seem to mind my young age and invited me back a few times. Last year, he made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He would fund the entire cost of starting up my own restaurant for a return of 20% of the profits. I wanted to do something else with my life so I took a big gamble.

M: And of course, that paid off pretty well. He must be happy.

HP: He is. I'm supposedly his most successful investment up to date; even Alfred couldn't beat him. Apparently, it made him rather insufferable.

J: It's always wonderful to hear a success story such as this. You deserve everything you've earned.

HP: Thank you.

M: Unfortunately, that's all the time we have for today. Hadrian, it had been a true pleasure talking to you. To see such success in someone so young inspires us all. You can definitely expect us to make a visit to Castle in the near future.

HP: Thank you. I'll be looking forward to your visit.

J: And that's it for today's special guest ladies and gentleman. Please give a warm hand of applause to Hadrian.

HP: Thank you, thank you.

M: Alright, after the break, we will be discussing the latest in the world of technology. Please stay tune.

* * *

**TBC**


	2. Castle

**Intent **

**Chapter 1**

* * *

**New York **

**September 23 2010**

"Is this really how the owner of a five star restaurant should be living?"

Hadrian groaned dramatically, burrowing himself even further under his covers, refusing to let Bruce's taunting words tear him away from the heaven that was his bed. Hadrian had never been a morning person and waking up in the mornings was, in his opinion, akin to pulling teeth. He would do everything in his power to get just one more minute of peace until someone decided that enough was enough and that he had to get up. That person was usually Bruce, who, despite having a perfectly good mansion on the outskirt of New York (in Gotham City) often decides to spend his time off work at Hadrian's.

"Hadrian! It's already 7. Wake up!"

"It's only 7," Hadrian corrected, his voice muffled by the thick covers. "I don't want to get up so early."

"Then you should have thought twice before opening a restaurant," Bruce chided before unceremoniously pulling the covers off Hadrian's body. The young man gave an indignant squawk in reply and dove off the mattress in the pursuit of his beddings. Bruce sighed in exasperation as Hadrian somehow managed to bump his head and bruise his nose by landing 2 feet away from his intended target.

"Oww," he complained, rubbing at the bump, "I hate you."

"And I feel 50 years older when you're around," Bruce snapped, turning around to fetch Hadrian's cloth. "And don't you dare go back to sleep, I'll post those embarrassing photos we took in Miami online if you do."

"You still have those," the teen yelped, jumping to his feet, "Bruce! You told me you deleted those."

"White lie, little brother," Bruce smirked, tossing a pair of black slacks over his shoulder. They landed squarely on Hadrian's head, messing up his already messy black curls.

"You are such a bastard," Hadrian decided before snatching the garment off of his head and putting them on. They were a little cold from lying on his floor the entire night, but Hadrian ignored the minor discomfort in favor of trying to get his pyjama top off. His natural morning clumsiness strikes yet again when he managed to hit himself in the eye for his troubles.

"It's kind of sad," said Bruce, coming over to help, "Like watching a little duckling taking his first steps and failing miserably at it."

Hadrian mumbled something that might have been "stupid bastard", but just came out as "stupd custard".

"Very mature," his companion deadpanned, successfully detangling his limbs from the confinement of his shirt, "Now hurry up. Your restaurant won't run itself."

"I know," Hadrian groaned before ducking in to the washroom to wash up. "You tell me that every chance you get."

"And I will continue until I know you've learnt your lesson," Bruce replied, while looking around Hadrian's apartment with a small grimace.

"Stop judging me," the teen snapped from the other room.

"I'm not," Bruce protested.

"Yes you are," Hadrian retorted, "I know you think rich people all have to live in big houses, but I'm happy where I am."

"Actually," Bruce deadpanned, "I'm thinking more along the line of how can a single individual produce so much garbage? It's like a dump in here."

"I'm a teenage boy," Hadrian argued, "What do you expect? And don't be all that high and mighty; I've seen your room before the maids goes through it. That's what we call scary."

They were still arguing about whose rooms were messier as they descended the stairs 20 minutes later. An argument that Jennifer Granger, one of Hadrian's closes friends and best employees, stopped with a slap on the back of both of their heads.

"Boys can be so immature," she tsked, grabbing Hadrian by the arm and dragging him in to the kitchen. "And you Mr. Wayne. Hadrian has a busy day today so don't you dare interfere."

"Hey!" Bruce protested, "Who do you think got this kid out of bed this morning?"

"Just go Bruce," Hadrian called out before Jennifer could reply, "I'll call you later."

"Fine," Bruce pouted, "I see when I'm not wanted."

The slam of the front door made Hadrian roll his eyes.

"So what's up boss lady?" Hadrian asked, grinning at Jennifer.

Despite the fact that he was the one technically paying her salary, Jennifer was the glue that truly held Castle together. A business graduate from NYU, Jennifer had stepped on to the job market two years ago with ambitions of making a name for herself. Unfortunately, all her dreams fell in to the water when her partner betrayed her in order to make a quick buck. Disillusioned, Jennifer spent the next two years working cafes and trying not to fall victim to depression. She was already thinking of taking medication for her condition when Hadrian had met her. He had seen her potential and had offered her a job as the general manager of his restaurant. Bruce had disagreed of course, believing that her inexperience would drive the place to the ground. But Harry has always been the eternal optimist and had seen a kindred soul in Jennifer's sad smiles. They had worked together ever since.

"I've reviewed the reservation list for tonight and guess who's on it?" she asked, eyes nearly sparkling in excitement.

"Who? The President?" Hadrian joked, enjoying the way she was practically bouncing up and down.

"No! Even better!"

"Better than the President?" Hadrian pretended to think, "The Queen?"

"No!" Jennifer snapped, finally had enough of this game, "Tony Stark!"

Hadrian blinked.

"Anthony Edward Stark, the engineer?"

"Yes him," Jennifer said impatiently, "I can't believe I'll be able to meet Iron Man in person in a few hours."

"Don't tell me you're a fan," Hadrian grimaced, "Bruce will hate you for it. He and Stark has this ongoing rivalry. That was part of the reason why Stark hadn't visited Castle before. I wonder why he decided to change his mind."

"Whatever it was, I'm grateful," Jennifer said with conviction, "Iron Man saved my mother's life and I will be forever indebted to him."

Hadrian's smile softened at that.

Jennifer's mother had been in New York for some conference when the Aliens attacked. She and her colleagues had been so unprepared that they hadn't known what to do. The building they were in had mostly collapsed and she had almost given up hope of getting out of there alive when Iron Man appeared and swooped her out. Hadrian knew that Mrs. Granger had been singing the superhero's praises ever since.

"Too bad she won't be here to meet him."

"She's a little disappointed, but she's glad I'll get to meet her hero."

"Of course she already know," Hadrian mumbled to himself as he snatched an apron of the hook, "Well, if he is here to be impressed, we'll do everything to impress him. Tony Stark won't know what hit him."

* * *

**TBC**


	3. First Encounter

**A/N: Im rewriting this story to make less crack-ish. Chapter one and prologue have been changed so please go read that because some details are different.**

**Enjoy and please tell me if you like the rewrite better or not? The original has been posted as a seperate story but won't be updated.**

**Edit 28/10/14: This chapter has been entirely rewritten and while the premise stayed the same, new details have been added to flesh out the story. I apologize for the confusion, but please bear with me. This is the last edit of chapter 2. Chapter 3 will come out soon.**

**Please read and tell me what you think. Enjoy.**

* * *

**Intent**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

**New York **

**23 September 2010**

As Castle's owner and Head Chef, Hadrian's had his plate full from opening to closing. That is because Castle, unlike all the other restaurants in its category, only had one Chef and he was it. Surprising yes, but Hadrian prefer it that way. Chalk it up to his need for control after a childhood of being closely scrutinized and confined by the thousands of rules his oh-so-wonderful relatives had imposed upon him.

Due to Castle's one chef rule, the restaurant had to stay a certain size. In consequence, Castle resembled more a family diner than a five star dining facility that even the President has visited. At full capacity, only 50 patrons could be sat. 10 servers were available at all times to serve the food and collect the dirty dishes. In the kitchen, Hadrian had 2 assistants who helped with ingredients preparation. It was a well oiled process that took months to perfect.

Jimmy and Jamie, the Taylor twins, were already busy at work when Hadrian entered the inner kitchen. The outer kitchen was where plates of food were organized on platters before bringing out to the diners; the inner kitchen was where all the magic happened. Jimmy and Jamie were as an integral part of that magic as Hadrian was. Without their diligent work, Hadrian would have gone crazy trying to do everything himself. With the twins there, he could concentrate on cooking.

"Hey Jamie and Jimmy," Hadrian called out, only making Jimmy turn around. Jamie quickly turned off the food processor they were using before doing the same.

For such a small restaurant, Castle boasted some of the most cutting edge technology in food preparation, courtesy of Wayne enterprises. Learning how to turn on some of those machines sometimes required reading a manual as thick as one's arm. While Jimmy and Jamie absolutely adored the high tech installations, Hadrian had always been more comfortable with the traditional tools of cooking. Bruce had more than once teased him about being old fashioned. It was sad how true it actually was.

"Hey boss," both replied at the same time, grinning widely at him, "I heard we'll be having a special guest tonight."

Hadrian made a face.

"Yeah, we are so we will have to bring our A-game. We can't let Jennifer down."

"I heard you agreed to let her waitress just for tonight," Jimmy said, smirking at him.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" His brother continued, eyes wide with faux-innocence.

"She'll probably fangirl all over him," both twins finished admist snickers, "Oh Mr. Stark. Marry me! Let me have your babies."

"Hey!" Jennifer called out, sounding annoyed, "I heard that! And for your information, I'll be perfectly professional. I will bring them to their seats and wait for the orders. Then I will bring the food. Unlike some people, I at least know how to be mature when the situation calls for it."

"I trust you Jennifer," Hadrian assured her, smiling at the grimace the twins were making. Jennifer was going to strangle them if she ever found out they were continuing to make fun of her even after she told them off. It was better for everyone involved if she has no idea. For a small woman, Jennifer's temper was a thing to behold.

Once the twins got over their little game and Jennifer returned upstairs to deal with the set up of the tables and chairs, the actual preparation for the lunch service started. Tony Stark's party was set to arrive for lunch service instead of dinner service so they had a short time window to get everything done perfectly. Jennifer would probably kill him if something went wrong today.

"How about Italian for lunch boss?" Jamie suggested, as Jimmie turned the food processor back on, "It's mystery day after all."

One of Castle's most beloved tradition was to offer Mystery Day; a day where the restaurant would offer an entirely new menu based on a culture that they decide at random. The customers won't know until they come in. Last week's menu was based on Japanese food and the sushi had been a huge success. But that wasn't such a surprise. In general, Mystery day was well appreciated; when making reservations, most customers try to get one on Mystery day, but usually they were the first places to go.

"Italian sounds great," Hadrian told them, "Didn't Mr. Gil promise a delivery of his fresh pasta?"

"It's already here," said Jamie, hand gesturing towards the fridge, "that's why I suggested Italian."

"Alright then, we have 4 hours till lunch, let's get be ball rolling."

* * *

**New York**

**23 September 2010**

"Here we are," Tony said, with a dramatic sweep of his hand as the little group got out of the black limo. "Castle."

"Really," Natasha sounded dubious as she took in the turn-of-the-century red-bricked building in front of her, nestled between a coffee shop and a bookstore. A sign with the restaurant's name hung just above the door; wooden and old; looking like something that would be at home at the entrance of some drinking tavern. "Is this really the restaurant that had a 2 month long waiting list?"

"One month if you know the right people," Tony corrected and gestured for everyone to follow him. "Oh come on, don't make those faces. Don't you guys know not to judge a book by its cover?"

"I agree," Steve piped up, coming to join Tony at the front of their procession, "We should give this a chance."

Tony smiled his thanks at the support before unceremoniously pushing open the door.

The inside decor of Castle matched its exterior perfectly. Wooden tables; intimate lighting; music playing at a low volume; it felt homey, as if you have just stepped through the door of your grandparent's holiday cabin.

With everyone else still taking in the decor, Tony made his way towards where a waitress was waiting, menu in hand.

"Tony Stark. Party of 5," he told her. He squinted a little as he read her name tag. "It's nice to meet you Jennifer."

To his relief or disappointment, the woman didn't seem to react to his light flirting. Instead, she just smiled a polite and professional smile and welcomed him to Castle.

"Your table is ready Mr. Stark. If you and your friends would follow me."

The table they were given was situated far from the entrance, in a small corner that offered them both privacy and silence. They could easily talk here without being overheard or disturbed by the ambient cacophony of noises. It was a nice thought and Tony vowed to give Jennifer a nice tip at the end.

Menus were placed in front of them once they had all sat down, the wooden bench surprisingly comfortable under the bodies. A glass of water followed before Jennifer bade them temporarily leave so that they can peruse the offerings without her presence.

"Looks like Italian food," Clint said, sounding happy. Italian food had always been his favourite. His mother used to make a pasta that was to die for...or at least, according to Clint.

"The _Calamari Affogati_ looks good," said Tony, the Italian words rolling of his tongue without the hint of an accent.

"I'm taking the Spaghetti and the homemade meatballs," said Clint, "I can't wait to see if it can match up to my mother's recipe."

"I just hope it's good," Natasha said from her place against the wall.

"I'm sure," Tony told her, "The reviews are never wrong. And when Gordon Ramsay himself says this place is not to be missed, then we can sure trust that this place is not to be missed."

"Then why haven't you visited before?" Clint wanted to know, putting down his menu to look at Tony.

"It's actually because Wayne Enterprise was the one to fund this place. Up until now, I had refused to go anywhere associated with Bruce Wayne's name. Business rivals and all."

"What changed?"

Tony shrugged, looking up to see Jennifer coming back with a pad to take their orders.

"I was out of options and I wanted to try something new."

"Since I didn't introduce myself back then, I will now," she began with a welcoming smile, "Hi, my name is Jennifer and I'll be your waitress tonight. Are you guys ready to order?"

"I'll take the _Calamari Affogati_," said Tony, closing his own menu, "With a bottle of your finest wine if you have it."

"We have a 1990 _Brunello di Montalcino_ if you desire it," Jennifer told him, "I'm certain the richness of the liquor would go perfectly with your selection of the meal. However, it does cost about 2000$ a bottle."

"2000$!" Steve exclaimed, sounding shocked, "That's preposterous. Tony, you can't be really thinking-"

"We'll take it," Tony interrupted him.

"Hey, it's Stark's money," Clint defended when Steve turned to look at him.

"I agree," Bruce said softly, "It may be expensive, but if Tony thinks it's worth it..."

"It is," Tony assured them. He seemed to be doing a lot of that tonight.

"I'll take the spaghetti and homemade meatballs," said Clint. Natasha followed with the same choice.

"I'll take the vegetarian lasagna," said Bruce, ignoring the looks of horror he got from Clint.

"I'll take the _Falfalle al Salmon_," said Steve.

"Of course," she said, gathering up their menus, but surprisingly not taking them away. Instead, she deposited them at a corner of their table. "I'll be back with the food."

The team talked about inconsequential things for the 15 minutes it took for the food to arrive. Steve wanted an update on the situation with Loki, but Bruce told him that he had none. Apparently, both Loki and Thor had vanished off the face of the earth after the fight...something Thor's girlfriend Jane was extremely unhappy about. Tony, being Tony, had to of course piped in with an extremely inappropriate comment of inviting Jane over so he can keep her _company,_ but Natasha's punch and Steve's disappointed glare shut him up pretty quickly.

Luckily for everyone's sanity, 15 minutes passed pretty quickly and soon a procession of 3 waiters, led by Jennifer, arrived at their table, hands full with platters of food.

The first thing Tony noticed was the absolutely mouth-watering aroma the uncovered plates was giving off; the smell wasn't something easy to describe since Tony was sure he had never encountered something like this before. And considering how he had some of the best chefs in the world on retainer, that was saying something.

The rest of the team looked as mesmerized by the food as Tony was and stared avidly as the waiters carefully placed each of their selection in front of them.

"Spaghetti and homemade meatballs," Tony heard Jennifer tell Clint, "Made with fresh pasta brought in directly from Italy. The sauce is mostly tomato and garlic, but with a special ingredient that I won't be able to tell you..

Clint made a inhuman sound at the back of his throat before unceremoniously diving in, without waiting for the others.

The wine came once all the plates were put down on the table. Jennifer's two minions quickly offered each one of them a wine glass, but the actually pouring was done by the young woman herself. Her movements were precise and professional, and Tony was actually impressed with how efficiently she went through the motions.

"Enjoy," she told him as his glass was filled with a rich, dark red liquid.

Tony Stark may not be a wine connoisseur, but he had had the opportunity of tasting some of the finest wines ever produced. His father, from what he could remember of him, had an obsession with good wine. He had actually spend a chunk of the Stark Fortune building a wine cellar. The cellar was unfortunately destroyed when an experiment went wrong in the lab and the whole house had burst in to flames. Tony was pretty sure his father had actually been more upset about his lost collection than the first degree burns that Tony had suffered consequent to the fire. It was just another thing, in the already massive list of things, that would slowly drive them apart.

"Thank you," Tony said, refusing to lose himself in past memories.

But losing himself in his own head was probably impossible even if he wanted to because at that moment, Natasha let out a moan that most porn stars would be proud of. In response to that sound, Tony's head turned to her and he saw, much to his surprise, that half her plate was already gone. The rest of the team were also making decent progress on their food, their glasses of extremely expensive wine left untouched.

Eyebrows raised, Tony picked up his own fork and dived in.

The first bite, as it turned out, was even better than the smell. The only way to describe it was an orgasm in his mouth. The moan that came with it was totally involuntarily but Tony didn't care. Whoever cooked this was an indisputable genius.

He finished his plate in record time and was already reaching for the menu to order a second plate of something else when it occurred to him that Jennifer had probably left the menu there for that exact purpose. People must order seconds often in this place. Unsurprisingly really when the food was this good.

"Seconds?" Jennifer asked, sounding amused. She had came back without a call, and was waiting patiently, pad in hand.

"That was indescribable," Natasha told her before Tony could answer, "Did you put some kind of drugs in this to make it this good?"

"Our ingredients are all fresh," Jennifer replied, without looking the least bit offended by Natasha's question, "And don't worry about mind-altering substances, we had an inspector over a few weeks backs with the same concern."

"And what happened with him?" Clint asked.

"Well, why don't you see for yourself?" Jennifer replied, gesturing to a nearby table where a man in his mid-forties sat, gorging himself on lasagna, "He became one of our most loyal customers."

"I can see why," Bruce said and Steve nodded his head.

"So," Jennifer prompted, turning back to them, "Seconds?"

* * *

**New York**

**23 September 2010**

"The food was a success," Jennifer said happily as she walked in to the kitchen where Hadrian was busy at work with one of his last orders of the night, "He wants seconds; they all want second."

"Are you surprised?" Hadrian smirked at her, even though he was inwardly delighted at how happy she was.

"No," Jennifer said with a shrug, "I believe in your genius, Hadrian."

"And what has your dear Mr. Stark chosen this time, Jenny?" asked Jimmie, tone simpering as he turned his attention from the cutting board to her.

"Don't call me that," Jennifer snapped, "And his not my dear anything."

"Brother dear," Jamie interrupted, looking way too amused for Jennifer's blood pressure, "Don't tease the nice woman; she'll probably combust by how red she's slowly becoming."

"Why you little-"

"Jennifer," Hadrian interrupted, "The order?"

"Oh yes," Jennifer said, quickly coming back down to herself. With one last glare to the terror twins - her nickname for Jimmie and Jamie - she began to list off the things she had written.

"One plate of spaghetti and homemade meatballs, one _Linguine Pescatore, _one vegetarian lasagna, one traditional meat lasagna and one Ravioli plate. Oh and Mr. Stark wants to meet you."

"Meet me?" Hadrian said, sounding confused. He quickly plated his last order before turning to Jennifer, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, if you have time."

"Go see him boss," said Jimmie, "It'll take some time to prepare the ingredients. Just don't take too long and you'll be ok."

"Alright," Hadrian nodded, turning to Jennifer, "Why don't you help the boys out if they forget their order. I'll go see what Mr. Stark wants."

"Do tell me when you get back," Jennifer pleaded, eyes wide, "I have to have a detailed report when I call mom tonight."

Laughing, Hadrian agreed.

* * *

**New York**

**23 September 2010**

With food so good, Tony already had a preconception of what Chef Potter would be like. He hadn't seen any pictures of the man before today so he had no idea if his preconception is right. But, being the genius he was, Tony was certain he probably wasn't too off the mark.

Reality however made him gape.

"You're the Chef?" he gaped, ignoring the way the rest of the team was also looking at the...teenager who had come out to greet him. Sure Tony had expected a young man - Bruce Wayne had a thing against working with anyone over the age of 40 and preferred to leave Alfred to deal with them if that was the case - but he hadn't expected this young. Chef Potter didn't look a day over 16. Either he had a baby face or that Bruce had truly stumbled upon a rare treasure.

"I am," Chef Potter replied, his smile a little tense, "How can I help you Mr. Stark?"

At the question, Tony quickly recovered, smirk coming back in full swing. It didn't matter how young the Chef was, as long as his food was this delicious, he could either be 60 or 12 for all Tony cared. If anyone knew about child prodigies, it was Tony Stark. He was the original child prodigy after all.

"Well Chef Potter," he started, "You're in luck. I want to hire you as my personal chef."

"No," Chef Potter replied flatly, without a hint of hesitation. He didn't seem surprised either, which probably meant that he had somewhat guessed of Tony's intentions, "I'm not interested."

"What?" Tony spluttered, never having someone decline a job so easily.

"I have a restaurant Mr. Stark," Chef Potter replied, gesturing around him, "People who depends on me. I'm not going to run off like that. If you like my food so much, come back again."

"But…But," Tony protested, feeling like a duck out of water. "I'll give you 10 times what you make here!"

"It's not about money," Chef Potter replied, looking almost disappointed with him, "It's about passion. Now if that's all, I'll take a leave."

After a respectable nod to the rest of the team, Chef Potter made his exit, leaving a gaping Tony Stark in his wake.

Clint snorted, looking way too amused for Tony's comfort.

"Looks like your charm just hit a wall," he commented with a cock of his head.

"Nonsense," Tony replied, false confidence colouring his tone, "I'll convince him yet. Don't you worry."

* * *

**TBC**.

I'm not an expert when it comes to food so I apologize for the wrong details.


	4. Of Gods and Prophecies

**Intent Chapter 3 **

**Of Gods and Prophecies**

* * *

**24 September 2010**

**New York**

"Tony! Why aren't you dressed yet?" Pepper scolded, arms crossed in front of her chest. "Didn't I tell you to be ready to leave by 5?"

"Leave where?" Tony yelped as he felt the covers being unceremoniously torn from the bed. "Pepper!"

"Emergency shareholder's meeting," Pepper said as calmly as she can, "The one in our offices in Las Vegas. I thought I was pretty clear on the phone yesterday."

"Phone?" Tony asked, sounding surprised, "I don't remember a phone call."

"Probably because you were drunk," said Bruce as he appeared behind Pepper, "You did bring back that truly expensive bottle of wine from Castle. And you proceeded to drink it all by yourself. Hello Ms. Potts."

"Doctor Banner," Pepper smiled at him, "You look dressed to go."

"Wait!" Tony interrupted, "Why is Bruce dressed to go?"

"You agreed to take me along," Bruce replied serenely, "Yesterday. Remember?"

"Hmm," Tony said, scratching his head.

He really needed to stop drinking so much.

* * *

**Las Vegas Desert**

**24 September 2010**

Loki materialized out of thin air, his feet touching the ground without a sound. His dark hair was slightly tousled from the desert wind, but he ignored it in favor of taking in his surroundings. The abundance of sand everywhere made him grimace and curse once again at Thor's lack of a sense of direction.

"Don't look so down brother," Thor chided, appearing next to Loki, his ever-present battle hammer held firmly in one hand. True to form, the God did not look the least bit bothered by the fact that his teleportation spell seemed to have landed them in the middle of nowhere. Loki resisted the urge, yet again, to throttle him.

"Do you even have any idea where we are?" he asked, ignoring Thor's attempt at cheering him up. After all, Loki didn't need any cheering up; what he did need was to find a way back to civilization as soon as possible. This dry desert air can't be good for his skin…not that he cared about those things.

"Desert?" Thor hazarded a guess and suddenly, the urge to commit fratricide was starting to become unbearable. The God sometimes wondered if Thor was truly mentally deficient or that he just acted that way for some reason. Whatever the explanation was, it made Loki long for the days he didn't have to depend on someone who couldn't even master a simple transportation spell. If only his own powers weren't bound, he would have gotten them out of here the moment they had arrived. But since Odin didn't trust Loki to not try to take over the World once more, having his powers back was out of the question.

"Can't you use those powers of yours to get us a more definite answer?" Loki hissed between his teeth. He couldn't believe that the All-father had thought it wise to send Thor of all people along with him back to Earth, especially when the reason behind their visit has nothing to do with pleasure. They were on a reconnaissance mission for Odin's sake, and having someone as slow as Thor around was going to make finding their target 10 times more difficult. Sure most people Loki knew hated his guts for what he had done, but Loki was starting to believe that he would have preferred tense silence and intense glaring to…this farce.

"Hah," Thor said triumphantly, pointing towards a point in the distance, "I think I see someone coming. Maybe we should ask for directions."

"Thor," Loki said patiently, "How are you going to make him understand you? My powers are bound so I can't perform a translation spell and you never bothered to learn it because it wasn't going to be usable in battle. Unless he spoke English then we are out of luck."

Thor deflated at that.

"You're right." He signed, eyes squinting up at the sun.

Loki groaned once more and was about to suggest something along the lines of "let's keep moving" when the sound of an engine made him look sharply to the left. His eyes widened a little when he saw a tank of some kind heading towards them at an alarming speed.

"Thor," he said urgently, pointing at the vehicle, "What-" He cut himself off when he saw the Stark Industries Logo on the tank's right side. He didn't even have time to wonder what it meant before the machine stopped a few feet from them.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" came Stark's obnoxious voice from where the door was opening, "Loki and Thor. So wonderful to see you."

"Friend Tony!" Thor called out joyfully as he passed Loki to reach the entrance, "Thank you for coming to our aid."

"How did you find us?" Loki sneered, refusing to let any relief show in his posture. "How did you even know we were here?"

"It was luck really," Tony admitted, "Stark Industries had an emergency shareholders meeting I couldn't get out off and it was held just a few minutes from this place by car. Can you believe that Pepper dragged me out of bed at 5 in the morning! I'm so not a morning person, especially when there's nothing to hold my attention."

"We received report of a huge energy spike in this area," Bruce explained, coming to join them, "The readings were similar to the activation of the Bifrost so we knew we had to come."

"But if it's a Stark Industries meeting, why are you here?" Loki persisted.

Bruce shrugged.

"I wanted to see the sights," he replied and gestured them to enter the vehicle.

The inside of the vehicle was way over-the-top for something destined for military use. It resembled more something we could find inside a limo rather than a tank. Thor, of course, took everything in stride and sat down opposite Tony, even accepting a small glass of Champaign from the billionaire's mini bar. Loki declined the offer with a sniff, turning away, his arms crossed. Tony didn't seem to notice or care about Loki's apparent dislike of his company because he just smiled at him and asked: "Why are you back on Earth? I thought you would be rotting away in a prison somewhere."

"Unfortunately for you," Loki sneered at him, "The all-Father decided that my powers were too valuable to waste. He sent me here on a reconnaissance mission; to find someone."

"Loki has always been the one most sensitive to magic in the family," Thor explained, "Even with his powers bound, he can sense another person's power just by being near them."

"So you're here on Earth to search for someone powerful," concluded Stark, his quick mind making all the connections without further prompting. "Who is it?"

"We have a Seer on Asgard, who predicted the birth of child who was supposedly the perfect conduit for magic," Loki replied reluctantly. "Human magic is somewhat different than Asgardian magic, but the same basic principle applies."

"Wait," Tony said, eyes wide, "Humans can do magic?"

"Yes," Thor answered, "There exist a secret community of Misgardians that can, in fact, control the forces around us."

"Why haven't we ever heard about it?"

"It's secret for a reason Stark," Loki snapped, "It's not meant for you to find."

Bruce interrupted before Tony could decide to retort.

"Perfect conduit? Does that mean he won't need any other props to channel his magic?" he asked.

"Yes," Thor confirmed solemnly, "Such power, if fallen in to the wrong hands, would be disastrous."

"Why are you searching for him now?" Tony interrupted, "Why not before? Was he just born?"

"No, he was born 16 years ago."

"There has never been a reason to look for him before today," Thor admitted, "The All-father had always tried his best to steer clear of Midgard and most of his enemies tend to do the same, but with my brother's recent actions, the All-father fears that someone else would be inspired by the idea and make a move to take over this dimension. Finding this child of the prophecy is the first step in his plan to save your race from potential annihilation."

"Great," Bruce mumbled to himself, "The safety of this planet is resting on the shoulders of an unknown child."

He sighed.

Typical Avengers' luck…

* * *

**TBC**

**Thank you all for the support while I rewrite this story. I really hope that you like the new direction its taking. Please dont hesitate to tell me what you think. **

**the next chapter should be out soon. See you then.**


	5. Developments

**Intent Chapter 4**

**Developments**

**A/N: This story has taken an entirely new direction so please go back to the beginning and re-read the earlier chapters. They have been rewritten so you won't understand of the rest if you don't do so. Thanks for reading. And please be assured that this is the only major rewrite this story will go through. There won't be any more changes like this ever again. **

* * *

**24 September 2010**

**New York**

"Why is Loki back on Earth?"

Sitting on one of the leather sofas of Stark Tower's main living room, Director Nick Fury of Shield looked like someone about to have an aneurism. With his lips pursed and both hands formed in to fists, he stared coldly at the God in question. While most of the other Avengers seemed to have decided to play nice with Loki for the moment, Nick Fury was not about to do the same. He had lived long enough to know that sociopaths like Loki will never change; give them an inch and they will somehow find a way to destroy everything you hold dear. It didn't matter that Thor had assured him that Loki's powers were bound, thus cannot harm anyone, because as a true Trickster, Loki will always find some way around the rules imposed upon his person.

"Loki's here on a mission," Tony Stark piped up, coming in to the room from the left entrance. He was dressed in evening fineries, complete with a blue tie and expensive Italian loafers and looked about to head out to some party. Since Fury was pretty sure that there weren't any parties for him to attend that night, he wondered where the eccentric billionaire was planning to spend the evening.

"What kind of mission?" Fury asked and although the question was directed at Stark, his eyes were still trained on Loki. It frustrated him to no end that the attention seemed to amuse the God instead of intimidating him in to spilling all his secrets.

"A reconnaissance mission," Tony replied happily, walking towards a body tall mirror that he had propped against the wall. Why anyone would need a mirror in a living room was anyone's guess. "He's here to find someone based on some prophecy made by a Seer 16 years ago."

"A prophecy," Fury deadpanned, not trying at all to disguised the disbelief in his tone. Magic he can accept; but Fate and Prophecies? That was just a bunch of bullshit in his opinion. Fate is the consequence of your own decisions and as a free agent; the only prophecy that exists is the self-fulfilling prophecy.

"I advise you not to make fun of our predictions mortal," Loki sneered, eyes blazing as he slowly stood up. Any lesser man would have been absolutely terrified by the expression on his face because power or no power, Loki still cut a pretty intimidating figure against the backlight from the lamp in the far corner. "Your human prophecies may be useless, but our prophecies are always guaranteed to come true."

"My brother is right," Thor interjected from where he was leaning against the wall, his hammer resting against his leg. For the first time in a long time, his expression was serious and that, out of all things, sent a jolt of alarm through Fury.

"What does this prophecy say?" he finally asked, eyes turning from Thor to Loki.

The God shrugged.

"No one knows the exact wording," he admitted, "All we know is that 16 years ago, Seer Mäe predicted the birth of a child who was supposedly chosen by magic itself. This child will be a Midgardian and will possess power no one can hope to match. This child will be a perfect conduit for magic and will be able to wield it without any assistance from staffs or wands or anything similar. The Child of Magic she had called him; the one capable to destroy his world - thus this dimension - if he so desires to."

"Do you have any idea where to find this person?" Fury persisted after a bout of silence. He had thought with Loki under Odin's control once more, Earth would no longer be threatened. But here Loki was, telling him about another force capable of destroying their world on a whim.

This was not Nick Fury's day. The council will probably want to know about this and if there was one thing Nick Fury hated above all else, it was having to deal with the arrogant bastards that composed the World Security Council.

"No," Loki said, ignorant of Fury's inner turmoil, "Seer Mäe admitted that there may be a block on the child in question; a block that would make finding him extremely difficult. It would be worse if the child does not wish to be found."

"Magic is this child's guardian and a very dotting one at that," Thor added, "It will manipulate its charge's environment to suit his every need. It will protect its charge from all harm. If I may give one advice to you, it's to never try to control him if we ever find him. It may be tempting, but the Child of Magic is not to be controlled, but to be revered. He's everything and nothing at the same time. He's magic and life; he's the circle of life. Nothing in your arsenal will ever be able to match that."

"Why is finding this child so important right now when you had 16 years to locate him?"

Loki and Thor shared a look; a look that Fury knew meant nothing good.

"We haven't been entirely truthful," Loki admitted begrudgingly when Thor gave him a meaningful glance, "When I was back in Asgard for my trial, there was a break in at the palace. The content of this prophecy was the target. The sudden urgency comes with the fact that we don't know who this perpetrator is or what his goal is. The All-Father fears that the thief may try to find the Child on his own and manipulate him for his own plans. Although it is a dangerous mission, its possibility we cannot ignore. If it wasn't for that, the Child would have been left alone since that is the safest choice."

"Then we have to find him," Fury said decisively, "Avengers. Your new mission is to find the Child of the prophecy…and yes, that includes you too Stark so don't try to slip away."

"Oh come on," Tony complained, stopping in mid step, "I have plans tonight."

"What plans?" Steve asked, speaking up for the first time since the beginning for Loki's explanation. Bruce was already working away on his tablet while Natasha and Clint seemed to have started some kind of secret planning session.

"Well," Tony admitted sheepishly, "I wanted to go back to Castle."

"You never give up, do you?" said Clint, looking up to Tony, "And how on earth did you get a reservation so fast?"

"You know that pretty waitress from last night? Well, as it turned out, I saved her mother's life and she was more then willing to slip me in."

"You really shouldn't take advantage of her like that," Steve said disapprovingly.

"Hey! She offered," Tony protested, "And besides, there's no way I'm backing down from a challenge. Chef Potter just need a little persuading before he accepts to come work for me."

"Wait," said Fury, "Chef? You're talking about food when we just received news that there's someone out there powerful enough to destroy our planet?"

"Geez Fury, calm down," Tony said with a dispassionate shrug, making a vein throb dangerously on Fury's forehead, "There are a lot of people who have the power to destroy our planet, including me, if I wanted to. I can whip up a nuclear bomb potent enough to wipe out an entire continent in the blink of an eye. I'm not worried about this so-called prophecy. If the Child wants to be found, he'll be found. And besides, if we can't find him, our enemies won't be able to find him either."

"That's really naïf of you," Loki remarked, sounding a mixture of surprised and disappointed, "I expected more of you."

Tony shrugged again.

"I don't really care right now," he admitted, "I have something more important things in mind and that something involves that delicious _Calamari Affogati_ I tasted yesterday."

"Oh that had smelled good," Clint admitted almost dreamingly, "I would have loved to try it."

"You can come along, you know," Tony said, "I don't think Jennifer will mind. The table will be big enough."

For a moment, Clint looked indecisive as to what to do, before he jumped to his feet and grabbed his coat.

Tony smirked.

"Men," Natasha scoffed, but also got up to join Clint. "I'm coming with you. I don't trust Stark not to try something that would land us on the front page of some gossip rag."

"I have some work to do," Bruce said with a small smile, "I'll be in my lab."

"I'm coming too," Steve interjected, grabbing his coat as well.

"What about you big guy?" Tony asked Thor, "Want to come try some absolutely amazing food?"

"Unfortunately that won't be possible," Thor said with true sadness in his voice, "Loki and I need to report back. The All-Father is still a little concerned about Loki being here."

"I wonder why," Fury mumbled to himself.

"Oh well," Tony shrugged once more, ignoring the look he was getting from Fury, "We'll only be 4 today then. Let's go; I've already called Happy, he will be waiting for us in the Lobby."

"When did you have time to call Happy?" Natasha wanted to know while Steve just sighed and Clint rolled his eyes.

Fury watched them go while wondering if it was too late to find some other more reliable members for his Superhero team.

* * *

**TBC.**

**A/N: **Thank you all for the support. I'm really happy that you all seem to enjoy the rewrite so far. The next chapter will be coming soon so stay tuned. As always, please don't hesitate to tell me your opinion. Thanks for reading.


	6. Child of the Prophecy

**Intent Chapter 5**

**The Child of the Prophecy**

* * *

**24 September 2010**

**New York**

"This is a waste of time," Loki said as he sat cross-legged at the edge of the giant king-sized bed, looking over where his brother was still trying to set up a basic communication spell. It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic how bad Thor was at magic that has nothing to do with fighting. His brother may have been hailed one of the best warriors of Asgard, but place him in any domestic situation and he would simply fail to perform. It was an oversight in Thor's education that Odin had failed to notice until it was too late.

Sighing when another small explosion signaled that the spell had once more failed to activate, Loki turned his head to look out the giant bay windows overlooking the streets below. Outside, the sun was finally setting over the city of New York; a giant ball of fire sinking behind tall buildings, its last rays painting everything in a delicate pale orange. For a moment, the God just watched, almost entranced by the movements of the clouds, head filled with thoughts refusing to leave him alone.

"Yes!" cried Thor rather suddenly, abruptly tearing Loki from his contemplations, "I have succeeded brother!"

"Congratulations," Loki said as dryly as possible, turning his attention back to his blond companion, "And it only took 10 tries."

"You know I am not good at these things," Thor complained, actually having the nerve to look insulted and hurt.

"Whatever," Loki muttered, the expression rolling off his tongue so easily that it actually made him pause for one horrified second. This wasn't good, he decided, hoping that Thor hadn't noticed what he had just said. Being on Earth was truly starting to mess with his mind. He who prided himself for having the gift of tongues, couldn't believe that he was starting to sound like a sullen teenager; one with a limited vocabulary at that.

Luckily, Thor somehow did miss Loki's words, for he was too busy completing the final part of the spell that would open a temporary portal to Asgard, with which they would be able to talk to Odin without having to make the trip home. The portal was actually an invention that Loki had a hand in thus it was natural for him not to be too happy to see his brother botched it up so many times.

But that didn't matter right now.

As soon as the last words were said, a small ripple appeared in the air in front of them; almost as if the fabric of reality was tearing itself in to two. From the gap created by this tear, Odin's face appeared, looking old and tired.

"I am glad that you called," he said, as if he hadn't been the one to give them the order to call in the first place. "I have news."

"Already?" Loki asked surprised. A day hadn't even passed since their departure.

"Yes," Odin confirmed, "I have managed to track down Seer Mäe and asked her to give us more details about the prophecy. Seer Mäe was not happy at all that her vacation was interrupted, but due to the urgency of the matter, she agreed to do a special séance. It was about an hour after you have left."

"Did she find out who the Child is?"

"No," replied the King, looking frustrated by the lack of information. Odin has always prided himself for being all-knowing and this uncertainty was probably killing him. "She did not, but what she did find was more clues that may lead to his identity. According to Seer Mäe, the block placed upon the Child will start to disintegrate one year before his magical majority. As it does so, the Child's body will find ways to relief the huge buildup of power inside of him, leading to sometimes-strange happenings around him. She also mentioned that there was a possibility that the Child may start suffering from minor physical discomforts if he doesn't acknowledge this power soon."

"Is there anything else to go on?" Thor asked, expression serious as he regarded his father, "Something more obvious. Sometimes strange may be difficult to pinpoint."

"Well," Odin said a little thoughtfully, "The Seer did mention that the Child will end up with a familiar of some kind; not a normal one like a cat or an owl, but something more out of the ordinary. Perhaps that may help you locate him."

"Is she certain this person is even in New York?" Loki asked, lips pursed, thinking of all the possibilities where such a person may hide. One of the reasons he hated Seers and their predictions was how vague they were. A Seer can never make a person job easier by telling them exactly what they wanted to know. It was all blurry details until the truth was unveiled. And then, they would take all the credit for unveiling it in the first place.

"Yes," Odin confirmed, looking a little annoyed that Loki was even questioning him. He may have given Loki the mission, but he was far from forgiving Loki for his past misdeeds. In Loki's opinion, that didn't matter. He had long passed the days where he had been ready to beg for Odin's approval. As long as Odin was willing not to throw him in some prison to rot, he was happy to deal with whatever the King decides to throw at him.

From beside him, Thor was about to open his mouth as ask more, but before he could do so, a commotion on the other side drew Odin's attention away from the portal. A shout before the sound of footsteps hurrying away made the King frown.

"I have to go," he said and without ceremony, the connection was cut.

Loki shared a rare moment of mutual confusion with Thor as they both wondered what was going on.

* * *

**24 September 2010**

**New York**

The moment Tony pushed open the door to gain entrance to the restaurant; he noticed how the inside of Castle was already alight with activity despite it being a little early for proper dinner service to begin. He took in the sight of patrons chatting amicably as they enjoyed their food and wait staff expertly maneuvering between the tables to deliver their wares, the smell of freshly baked pizza wafting through the air.

Jennifer noticed them first, smiling brightly as she came over, hands self-consciously smoothing down her apron.

"Hello Mr. Stark," she greeted him cheerily, despite looking a little harried. "Just on time, your table is ready."

"Thank you," Tony said as their little group followed her to the same table as the night before. As they sat down, Jennifer quickly arranged for 4 sets of utensils to be brought over before she offered each one of them a menu.

"It's different then yesterday," Tony couldn't help but remarked as he perused the selection.

"Yes it is," Jennifer confirmed, "Yesterday was Mystery Day; the menu is always different on Mystery Day. This is our regular menu."

"I see you have opted for a more traditional American feel."

Indeed, the menu mostly comprised of steaks and hamburgers, but Tony didn't doubt that even the most plebian selection would taste 100 times better here than anywhere else.

"Should I give you more time?" Jennifer asked, eyes already darting towards another table where a middle-aged couple was gesturing for her attention.

"No," Tony replied, when Clint, Natasha and Steve all shook their heads. "I'll take the House Burger."

"I'll take an All-American Pizza," said Clint, closing the menu and handing it over.

"I'll take the Steak and fries," said Steve.

"And I'll take the meat pie," said Natasha.

"Of course," Jennifer took their menus expertly in one hand before assuring them that water will be brought over momentarily.

Once she was gone, Tony's gaze immediately found itself wondering over to the employee entrance, leading to the kitchens. A thoughtful expression crept itself on to his face as he contemplated his options. Should he try to talk to Hadrian again by asking him to come out or should he find somewhere to sneak to the back?

"No," said Natasha, frowning at him, "Don't even think about it."

"What?" Tony raised both hands in defense, "I wasn't thinking about anything."

"You were thinking about doing something stupid and there is no way that is happening."

"Tony," Steve said disapprovingly, "Why don't you leave Chef Potter alone? You can't force someone to work for you."

"I guess not," Tony admitted with a sigh. It didn't take a genius to figure out that a reluctant employee was the worse thing that could happen. "I guess I can leave it off for a while. Maybe once Hadrian is used to my presence, he'll reconsider."

A commotion near the door made Tony turn around, eyes darting around to find the source. It didn't take long before he realized that the excitement was due to the arrival of a dark haired man, dressed impeccably in a form fitting black Armani suit, complete with blue tie and shiny Italian loafers. With his aristocratic features and handsome smile, Tony recognized him right away.

"Oh God," he moaned turning back to his table, "Not him."

"Hey!" Clint said, sounding absolutely delighted by this new development, "Isn't that Bruce Wayne?"

"Bruce Wayne?" said Steve, sounding lost. He looked distinctly upset by the fact that he was yet again unable to recognize someone others obviously could.

"Bruce Wayne," said Natasha, sounding bored, "30. CEO of Wayne Enterprises, considered Stark Industries' main rival by many reputable business magazines. Mr. Wayne is also a billionaire like Stark and the two has never gotten along."

"That is because he's a pompous ass," muttered Tony, trying not to catch Wayne's attention. From the corner of his eye, he could see Jennifer quickly make her way over to greet him and bring him to a table near the window.

"You should talk," Clint muttered before looking around the table for water and realizing that Jennifer hadn't brought them any drinks yet. "You going to order any expensive wine tonight?"

"No," Tony replied distractedly, still trying to keep an eye on Wayne's table without seeming too obvious. "I think I'm good."

He blinked in surprise when he somehow lost sight of the other man and looked around frantically for him. On the other side of the table, Natasha shook her head in disbelief while Clint tried to stifle his laughter.

"Where did he go?" Tony asked his companions.

"Where did who go?" said a very, very familiar voice before a hand descended on his shoulder.

Tony froze, eyes wide like a deer caught in the spotlight.

"Bruce," he exclaimed, a false smile plastered on his face as he turned to look at the other businessman, "How delightful."

"I wish I could say the same," Bruce replied blandly, gaze fixed on Tony, "I thought you retired from running that company of yours so why on earth are you interfering with my business deals?"

"Now Brucie-bear," Tony replied, smiling when a vein started to throb on Bruce's forehead, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Starlin Industries," Bruce snapped, "Does that ring a bell? I had been trying to get them to sell me their patent for month and imagine my surprise when they call me yesterday to inform me that Stark Industries has also expressed interest in their product. What am I supposed to think other than the fact that you are desperate for my attention?"

"Mr. Wayne!" Jennifer called out before Tony could reply. She quickly made her way over and grabbed the billionaire by the arm. "Your guests are here."

With one last glare towards Tony, Bruce departed, Jennifer on his heels.

"Wow Stark," said Clint sarcastically, "You just make friends wherever you go, don't you?"

"Shut up," Tony muttered, feeling the beginning of a foul mood slowly descending upon him.

* * *

**24 September 2010**

**New York**

The headache hit him out of nowhere, sending a wave a pain so intense that it actually made him stagger.

"Are you ok boss?" Jamie immediately asked, coming over to help Hadrian stand once more. It wasn't an easy task considering how Hadrian was at least a head taller and several pounds heavier.

"I'm fine," Hadrian hissed out, his vision slowly clearing as he took in a few gulps of much needed air. Headaches has never been common in his experience; the only time he had ever suffered one was when he decided it would be a great idea to stay up 2 days in a row. But even then, it was nothing compare to the magnitude of what he had just felt a few moments ago.

"I'm fine," he repeated weakly, wondering if he was reassuring Jamie or himself.

Something was going on with his body; something was changing and it frustrated Hadrian to no end that he has no idea what he was dealing with.

* * *

**TBC**

**A/N: **So here's the next chapter. We have more information about the prophecy and a brief interaction between Bruce and Tony. I think I'll end up pairing them together so expect more interactions in the future.

Thank you all for the support and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please don't forget to review.

See you soon.


	7. The beginning of a beautiful friendship

**Intent Chapter 6**

**The beginning of a beautiful friendship**

* * *

**24 September 2010**

**New York**

"I _am so_ sorry," said Jennifer, 10 minutes into the dinner service as she finally came over with their drinks, "Two of our waiters are off tonight with the flu and we didn't have time to find any replacements. We are absolutely over our heads with work."

"Understandable," Tony said, nodding his head. He wasn't particular hungry tonight so could accept a little waiting. "By the way, what is up with Wayne's huge circle of guests over there? Don't tell me he's having a business meeting here."

"Oh," Jennifer looked over where Bruce Wayne was indeed sitting in the middle of a group of 10 or so men and women all dressed in evening fineries; the women with their hair up and makeup done immaculately and the men with their beard trimmed and hair coiffed. "They are Hadrian's sponsors for next week's cook-off."

"There's a cook-off?" Clint asked interestedly, moving over slightly so Jennifer can deposit a glass of water in front of him, "I haven't heard about it."

"Yes there is," the young woman confirmed as she moved over to Natasha, "But it's just begun to advertise on Food Network. It's supposed to be some big deal with Chefs from all over the world comes here to compete. Hadrian is naturally the youngest so there's a lot of pressure on him."

A clatter of plates hitting the floor shut her up with an abrupt halt.

"What…"

Jennifer looked over to where the noise had came from, frowning when she saw one of the waiters apologizing profusely to an irate customer on whom he had just spilled a bowl of soup. Even from this distance, Tony could see that the young man was on the verge of tears as the woman berating him stood tall, the wet orange splotch on the front of her once pristine blouse contrasting weirdly with her reddening face.

"Oh god," Jennifer moaned, "Ty; I knew he wasn't ready for tonight, but we didn't have any choice."

Tony looked over to Jennifer's distressed expression, Ty's desperation and the room full of diners and made up his choice. Later, he may end up regretting it, but for now, he has to at least offer.

"I actually waitered when in University and was told I was pretty good at it," Tony said, attracting Jennifer's attention, "If you're short on staff, I can pitch in."

"Oh we couldn't," Jennifer gasped, eyes wide in shock as if she couldn't even conceive the possibility of asking a guest to waiter. But then Ty, distressed from being yelled at, somehow managed to stumble and fall in the lap of an amused-looking younger man while his father looked on with a heavy frown. "Oh, Hadrian will kill me for this."

"Well," Tony shrugged and said rather cheerfully, "It can't be worse then this."

Jennifer looked over once more, noticing how the commotion was attraction Wayne's group of sponsors, and nodded her head resolutely.

"If you are serious about your offer, then we will take you up on it."

"Are you really going to wait on people all night?" Clint asked incredulously as Steve told him how nice it was for him to lend a hand.

"This will be hilarious," Natasha said, her cellphone already in her hand, ready to start filming at any moment.

"Filming is prohibited," Tony snapped, pointing to a sign to his left, before following Jennifer's disappearing figure in to the kitchens.

* * *

**24 September 2010**

**New York**

Tony had never ever been in a professional kitchen before - his waiter experience was actually for a party at a friend's house - and the myriad of activity he's witnessing in front of him actually took him by surprise.

From what he could see, the kitchen was divided in two sections by a wall going from ceiling to floor. A window entrenched in the wall made it easy for people in the inner kitchen to transfer food out to the outer kitchen. Heating plates filled a metal table in the outer kitchen where the food would be placed, waiting for waiters to come pick them up and bring them to the diners.

The inner kitchen was where all the magic happened.

From the window, Tony could see Hadrian busy at work at one of the stoves, tasting food and putting in just the right about of spices to make it taste delicious. There was a prepping table near him, where two sous-chefs – identical looking so must be twins – prepared the ingredients to ensure that the _mise en place_ was just right as to maximize the Head Chef's efficiency. It was a very well-oiled process, Tony admitted, and it made him respect even more the hard work Hadrian put in to make sure that everything in his restaurant goes according to plan.

About a minute later, Jennifer came back, the click of her heels indicating her approach and with a tug of his sleeve, she broke Tony away from his observations and handed him a waiter's uniform.

"Hadrian agreed to let you help. You better not fail to deliver, Mr. Stark."

"Don't worry," Tony smirked, "I'm good at this; you'll see."

* * *

**24 September 2010**

**New York**

"Oh my," one of the woman said, sounding absolutely taken aback, "Isn't that Tony Stark? What is he doing as a waiter?"

Bruce looked up from his conversation with a white haired man who owned a rather successful Yoghurt company and followed the woman's finger with his eyes and saw, to his shock, Tony Stark step out of the kitchen, dressed in a waiter's uniform and carrying a platter of food. For someone who grew up having people wait on him 24/7, Stark was surprisingly good at waiting on other people. In fact, the platter never faltered or wobbled as he made his way through the crowd towards another table on the right. Bruce watched, entranced, as he deposited everything in front of the two rather star-eyed diners, before making his way back to the kitchen. As he passed Bruce's table though, the billionaire couldn't resist stopping him with a short "Stark."

"Yes?" Stark stopped, turning to him with a bland expression, "How may I help you sir?"

Bruce had once thought that hearing Stark addressing him with respect would satisfy his ego, but now that it was happening, it sent rather unpleasant chills down his body. It was just so unnatural, even if Bruce knew that it was technically Stark's job for the night. How that happened was actually beyond him.

"Why on earth are you a waiter?" he couldn't help asking.

"They're short staffed today and since I already had waiter experience, I offered."

"That's surprisingly kind of you," Bruce admitted, wondering if he should start seeing the playboy under a new light. The blush the sincere compliment produced was actually pretty cute. Of course, Bruce would never tell Stark that…not if he wants any shred of dignity left.

"If that's all," with a nod, Stark turned around and left, a trail of gaping faces following him.

"Was that really the CEO of Stark Industries?" one of the men asked in shock.

"Ex-CEO," Bruce corrected, "but yes, that was Tony Stark."

"It's so nice that someone so high up would still agree to do manual work to help out a friend."

_Yes, it was nice_, Bruce agreed silently, still unable to let the matter rest, _a little too nice. _He couldn't help but wonder, with Stark's track record and all, just what the other man was planning with his sudden sprout of altruism.

* * *

**24 September 2010**

**New York**

"Thank you so much for your help," Hadrian said, bowing slightly to the billionaire. When Jennifer had told him that Tony Stark of all people offered to lend a hand, he couldn't believe his ears. It just didn't fit with the image of the arrogant billionaire that he had constructed in his head after his first meeting with the man. _Perhaps_, Hadrian thought to himself,_ Stark actually had some hidden depth. _

"I was glad to help," said Stark, actually sounding sincere, "Everything seemed to have gone well."

"It went perfectly," Jennifer assured him, looking at him with stars in her eyes. Hadrian knew this did nothing to help her hero-worship.

"I'm glad," Stark said before yawning. "I think I'll be heading home now."

"Wait," said Hadrian before he could leave, "Why don't you come back with your friends tomorrow? It's a thank you for your help today. Come by during lunch service around 1 and we'll have a table ready for you. And of course, everything will be on the house."

"That's awfully generous," Stark said, looking surprised.

"It's the right thing to do," said Hadrian, smiling genuinely for the first time that night, "Here, take some food back with you since you hadn't had the chance to eat dinner. Have a good night Mr. Stark."

* * *

**TBC.**

**A/N: **Thank you all for the wonderful support for the rewrite. And with this chapter marks the last of the chapters I had posted for the original version. I hope you guys like the direction where this is going.

Next chapter will be coming out soon. I'll be looking forward to reading your reviews. I hope to see you there.

Also next chapter, it will be Harry-centric so don't worry, he's still our main caracter and won't be forgotten. For those worried about the Stark/Wayne pairing, I guess we will have to see how the story develops. Nothing is set in stone yet.

Bye for now.


	8. Bonds

**Intent Chapter 7**

**Bonds**

* * *

**25 September 2010**

**New York**

"Is everyone ready to go?" Tony asked while looking at himself in the mirror one last time to make sure he was presentable. Not that Tony Stark could be anything other than presentable; the engineer may be sort of a slob on his down time, but that doesn't mean he was willing to put even one foot in public without looking like a million dollars. The black Armani suit he had on at that moment made him look expensive to say the least; sophisticated and powerful. Tony smirked at his reflection, admiring how age was only making him look better.

"We'll ready to go if you finished admiring yourself," Natasha deadpanned, the "you narcissistic idiot" implied in her tone. By the expression on both Clint's and Steve's faces, they apparently agreed with her assessment. Tony pouted a little at that; it really wasn't his fault if they couldn't admire themselves as he did.

Tony Stark may hate a lot of things about his own person, but looks had never been part of them. Like his father and his forefathers, Anthony Edward Stark had been blessed with aristocratic good looks and easy charm that he could turn on at any moment. The downside of that was, of course, the heavy drinking problem and the occasional bouts of self-loathing. The world may choose to see Tony Stark as simply a narcissist, but Tony liked to think he had more than that.

"I'm ready," he glared at her – playfully of course, because even he didn't dare glare too much at Natasha for fear that she might retaliate – and headed towards the door. "Is Bruce coming this time?"

"I am," Bruce replied, appearing out of nowhere and making Tony jump slightly in surprise, "Thank you for remembering me."

"Aww, Brucie," Tony cooed, putting one arm over his friend's shoulders, "I could never forget you. You are my science-bro."

"Where are Loki and Thor?" Clint asked, ignoring Tony's over-the-top displays of affection, "I thought they wanted to come as well…after they had decimated all the pizza Stark brought home from Castle."

The previous night, Tony had came back with two boxes of Castle's specialty pizza – a thank you from Hadrian for having volunteered as a waiter – and had intended to enjoy them, by himself, along with a good glass of whiskey. He had even gotten as far as his personal floor when Loki appeared and demanded a taste. Tony should have said no; should have left, but he made the mistake of saying yes and before he knew it, his prize was gone and Thor and Loki were demanding more.

Such a headache…

"I saw them upstairs," Bruce replied, "Their father called back with more news so they couldn't come. I would offer to wait for them, but Thor assured me we should go ahead. They don't know how long it will take."

"Alright then," Tony said, bringing up his mobile to call Happy, "Let's go."

* * *

**25 September 2010**

**New York**

"This better be good," said Loki, trying to keep out the whining tone from his voice. "I can't believe I'm missing some truly fantastic food for this."

"_We_ are missing," Thor corrected, doing quick work to put together the communication spell. Since this was the second time he had done so, everything came together much easier.

Odin's face appeared the moment the words were said. The king looked even more tired and forlorn than last time, which sent sparks of alarm through the two Gods.

"I have more information about the prophecy," he started, without the usual niceties of how it was nice to see them, "Some alarming information that has rendered this mission more time sensitive than before."

"This can't be good," Loki muttered darkly, eyes never leaving the All-Father's face.

"During our last communication, I have mentioned how not acknowledging his power will only affect the child of the Prophecy, the Chosen one, but as it turned out, that's not exactly true. If the Chosen doesn't acknowledge his power and find a way to stabilize it before his magical majority, there's a big possibility it will overwhelm him. And when that happens, the magic trapped inside of him will find all possible ways to come out, leading to an – for lack of a better word – explosion. This could mean terrible things for Midgard if that event ever comes to be."

Thor's face lost whatever color it had at the news.

"What can he do to stabilize it?"

"Bonds," replied Odin, "Seer Mäe foretold the existence of other Midgardians whose magic is compatible with the Chosen's. She said that according to her readings the only way to avoid this tragedy is for the Chosen to find these people and bond with them. Unfortunately, she has no idea who these people might be."

"So you're telling us that our mission turned from finding one person to finding multiple persons."

"Unfortunately," Odin grimaced, "But it won't be that hard to find the Guardians (as she called them) of the Chosen once the Chosen is found. People with compatible magic will be naturally attracted to him even if they do not know why."

"We understand," Thor said quickly, before Loki could decide to open his mouth to tell Odin just how he felt about this whole stupid thing, "We will report back if we ever find anything."

Once the communication portal was closed, Loki let out of a hiss of frustration.

"He'll blame me when this mission fails," Loki said darkly.

"Of course not. We won't fail," Thor replied, trying to sound comforting. Problem was, he wasn't feeling all that optimistic himself.

* * *

**25 September 2010**

**New York**

It was an empty restaurant that greeted the group once they had made their way out of the limo.

"Are you sure he told you to come at this time?" Clint asked, eyes darting around, searching for signs of life other than themselves.

"Yes," Tony frowned, looking at his watch, "1 o'clock."

He was just starting to wonder if this was all some kind of joke when the door opened and Hadrian popped his head out.

"Hello," he said, smiling at them, "Come on in."

"Did you reserve the whole restaurant just for us?" Clint asked incredulously as he followed Tony inside.

"No, the restaurant is closed today," Hadrian told them, directing them to their usual table, "I, unfortunately, have engagements elsewhere so won't be able to work."

"What kind of engagements?" Tony asked, because he was a nosy bastard who can't seem to keep his nose out of other people's business.

"I have an exam actually," Hadrian said with a blush, "A final. I can't miss it since it is worth a big chunk of my grade."

"Oh of course," Steve piped up, smiling at Hadrian, "You are still going to high school aren't you?"

"Not high school," Hadrian corrected, "University. I'm already in my third year."

Clint whistled in appreciation as Steve gaped at him.

"Looks like you have some competition in the genius department," he tells Stark, smirking.

"What school do you go to? Culinary school?" The condescension was entirely involuntary, but it did make Hadrian glare at him in annoyance. Tony resisted the urge to wince; one step forward and two steps back. Trying to stay on someone's good side is really hard work.

"MIT actually," Hadrian snapped, "I'm majoring in Chemistry."

"That is an extremely good choice," Bruce told him, looking impressed, "I myself is a chemist and would love to hear your input on some of my current projects."

Hadrian's eyes widened in surprise.

"You would let me?" he smiled brightly at Bruce, "That is indeed a great honor Doctor Banner. Your reputation in the field precedes you. I would love to see what you are currently working on."

Bruce smiled back at him, Hadrian's enthusiast contagious. It was adorable how eager the young man was at learning new things. Bruce, himself, could remember a time when he had been that eager; so sure that he had a bright future in front of him. But, that was a long time ago…Now he was just another middle-aged scientist with anger issues.

While Bruce and Hadrian conversed, waiting for Hadrian's ride, Tony pouted.

* * *

**TBC**

**A/N: **Thank you all for the wonderful response. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know I said it was more Harry-centric, but this chapter just turned out this way. The next chapter will be more Harry-centric and we will see some of the things mentioned in the prophecy coming true.

As for the rest of the Wizarding world, they will also start to make their appearance. I don't know when, but they will. Please also note that bonds doesn't always imply romantic entanglements. In this case, the prophecy asks for a bond, but it can be with someone you see as a parent figure, for example. Some can be romantic as well. Both possibilities exist.

**In other words, bonds don't have to be romantic.**

**Note:** Thanks for the reviewer who pointed out the distance between MIT and New York. The trip is 4 hours by car, but it can be done quicker by private jet (and since this is a somewhat regular commute, he won't have to go through all the administrative stuff each time). It is not the most environmental friendly way to travel, but it's faster. Harry takes online classes so only has to make it to campus for labs and exams. It fits better with his work schedule.

A poll has been added for pairings for Harry. Please check that out. It's on my profile.

Thank you for reading and please don't hesitate to tell me what you think. It really inspires my writing.

See you guys soon.


	9. New Faces (1)

**A/N: **Thank you all who have taken the time to vote for the pairing. So as it turned out, the number one currently is Loki and the number two is an OMC that I will be introducing in this chapter. A lot of you seemed to be in favour of MMM so the story may end up that way, we'll see. Of course, the parions havent been set in stone yet so anything can happen. The poll will remain active so please vote for your favorite.

This chapter has a distinct lack of Hadrian and I apologize. The goal is truly to introduce Carlos, the OMC I had mentioned. I really hope that you enjoy it. Please read and review. Thank you all for the support to this story.

Warning: Slash. Boyxboy.

* * *

**Intent Chapter 8**

**New Faces**

* * *

_"You look beautiful tonight," he said, smiling over at where a younger man stood, clad in a custom tailored tuxedo, which outlined perfectly his lithe figure. The young man's gorgeous emerald orbs glittered flirtatiously as he smiled back, a small thing that curved the bow of his pink lips. _

_"Thank you," he replied, a blush coloring his otherwise pale complexion, "You look handsome as well."_

_He smirked, batting away the compliment with a wave of his hand._

_"You are the true belle of the soirée Hadrian," he purred, coming closer. When he was in arms reach, he extended a hand and caressed Hadrian's soft cheek, trailing a finger until it reached his exposed neck; delighting in the small shiver it produced._

_"My Prince," Hadrian murmured, eyes blown with arousal as he stepped closer, the consort seal around his neck glinting from the light of the overhead chandelier._

* * *

**25 September 2010**

**Royal Palace of Madrid, Spain**

Carlos Juan Abalos awoke in stages; first he was aware that he was no longer asleep and then he slowly opened his eyes to the world around him. He had forgotten to fully close the curtains the previous night and the first rays of the morning sun filtered through the gap to bath his room in a warm orange glow.

Carlos yawned, stretching his sore muscles. It was probably early, but that didn't matter. He was used to waking up pretty early anyway. Sleep wasn't something he liked to do a lot of; in his opinion, it was just a waste of time. Men weren't put on earth to sleep after all. Although, today, he has to admit he was kind of disappointed that the truly wonderful vision that had visited during the night hadn't lasted longer. Even though he knew it was only a matter of time before he would be able to see the green eyed beauty in person, but it had still been one of his most delightful visions up to date. Being a powerful seer can sometimes have its upsides.

Carlos slowly got out of bed and padded over to his laptop. Normally he would have washed his face and brushed his teeth first, but he was too excited to do so right now. Instead, he wanted more information on the young man that would become his future spouse; the future Prince Consort of Spain.

He smirked to himself. He could hardly wait.

The laptop, custom made to be a performance monster, powered up in less then 4 seconds and Carlos had a browser open two seconds later.

Hadrian...Hadrian Potter, was his name. He imputed it in the search engine and was delighted to find Hadrian's info fairly quickly.

"A chef, hmm," he smirked, "Well, this is getting better by the moment."

"Brother, you're already up?"

The door to the bedroom opened to admit Cyrus, his younger brother and one of the best fighters in the country. Cyrus was the only one in the family born a squib and thus was put in charge of the muggle side of the Spanish army. Training had made Cyrus a master of hand to hand combat and although he can't cast spells, he could fire a gun fast enough so that a wizard/witch would be dead before they could even reach for their wand. It was impressive and Carlos couldn't be prouder.

"Cyrus," he greeted the other man, "Do come in, I have some news."

"Does it involve marriage?" Cy asked wryly as he moved forward, "Father's been bugging me again."

"It does actually," Carlos answered, delighting in the widening of his brothers eyes. "I had a vision last night, of my future husband."

"Carlos that's wonderful," Cy exclaimed, "Are you looking him up?"

"Yes I already did, his name is Hadrian Potter."

Cyrus eyes widened.

"The Hadrian Potter, owner of Castle?"

"Oh? So you heard about him."

"Of course I did, I've been wanting to try Castle ever since Milo came back and raved about the food."

Carlos resisted the urge to rub his hands together like an evil villain in some Bond movie. Everything was coming together perfectly.

"Then you're in luck, I would love for you to accompany to New York to meet with Hadrian...if you are interested."

"Interested?" Cyrus exclaimed incredulously, grin a thousand watts, "Thank you. I would love to."

"My pleasure," Carlos replied, enjoying his sibling's excitement, "Now go tell Father the good news while I make arrangements.

* * *

**26 September 2010**

**Gotham City, New York**

"Now this is a surprise," said Bruce, eyes narrowed as he regarded his visitor, "What are you doing in my little part of the world?"

Across from him, Carlos Juan Abolos, the Crown Prince of Spain, sat one leg over the other, looking for the entire world as if he owned the place. It was a look that he had perfected after years of practice, Bruce knew, since he had already met the one that had taught Carlos how to perfect it in the first place.

Bruce had first encountered Carlos when he had visited the Royal Palace of Madrid about 2 years ago and had kept in contact ever since. The other man's easy charm and calm disposition suited Bruce just fine and he knew, right there and then, that Carlos would be a good friend to have.

"A little visit," Carlos replied, his Spanish accent barely detectable, "Why? Not happy to see me?"

"You know that's not it," Bruce sighed, resisting the urge to rub the strain out of his eyes, "With your impending coronation, I was certain your father wouldn't have let you out of his sights. Did you sneak out?"

Carlos snorted.

"How old do you think I am? Five?"

"Well," Bruce shrugged, "One never knows with you."

"I did not sneak out," Carlos continued as if Bruce hadn't just insulted him, "In fact, I had some business to attend to in New York and I thought why not drop by and say hello? And besides, that restaurant of yours has been gaining some popularity amongst my people and my brother nearly begged me to let him tag along so he can try it out first hand."

"You do know getting a reservation at Castle these days isn't easy," Bruce said dryly.

"But as part-owner, I'm sure you can make an exception," Carlos continued smoothly, his grin sharp and predatory.

Bruce sighed.

"I'll see what I can do."

"Wonderful."

* * *

**TBC**

**A/N**: Next chapter, Carlos will meet Hadrian and Loki will finally visit the restaurant. Look forward to it.

The Spanish Royal Family in this story is primarily composed of magic users. Of course, none of the members are actual people in the real world. Also note that the Royal Family has more power in this story then maybe in real life.

Please also note the age discrepancy between Carlos and Harry. Harry is 16 and Carlos will be in his mid-twenties. I apologise if it makes some inconfortable. Carlos is more experienced than Harry and the latter may not always understand what he is feeling at the beginning. Carlos is a romantic at heart despite coming off as manipulative at first. He has grown up in the Royal court and is more used to dealing with back-stabbing bastards than normal people. If Loki gets interested in Harry as well, it will be fun to see how they interact.

Next chapter we will get back to the plot. Carlos isnt just here for romance or whatever.

Thanks for reading. I hope to see you soon.


	10. New Faces (2)

**Intent Chapter 8**

**New Faces (2)**

* * *

**26 September 2010**

**Castle, New York**

As he reached down to retrieve a pot from the cupboard, Hadrian couldn't resist the urge to let out a yawn. Despite the relatively early hours – the clock had barely struck 1 in the afternoon – he was abnormally tired. He didn't know why that was since he had slept pretty well the previous night. 8 straight hours wasn't anything to sneer at; it was more then his usual 6 hours in any case.

Hadrian had never been someone who liked to sleep for a long period of time. He firmly believed that sleep should only be done to recharge one's body. For that purpose, 6 hours was long enough, so for him to sleep 8 hours without waking once was frustrating.

"Did you have a late night?" Jennifer asked, smirking as she observed Hadrian through the window separating the inner and outer kitchen. Around her, waiters and waitresses bustled to deliver the plates of steaming food to the awaiting customers.

"No Jennifer," Hadrian replied, rolling his eyes. He let out a small sound of triumph as his hand touched the handle of the pot he had been searching for. Carefully, he straightened up with his prize in hand and deposited the heavy object on to the stove. "I slept rather early, thank you very much."

Jennifer hummed non-committedly as she continued to stare at him with an unnerving intensity. Hadrian resisted the urge to tell her to stop it because it was truly making him uncomfortable and settled on asking her if she had other things to do then wasting her time bugging him.

Jennifer's mouth opened, obviously about to deliver some sharp remark, when a small commotion in the dining room drew her attention away. She straightened, eyes brows raised in confusion, her entire body tense as she listened to the rising volume of voices just outside.

"I'll go take a look," she told him before Hadrian could ask and in a whirl of her uniform skirt, Jennifer was gone.

Hadrian waited for about 2 minutes before she was back again, smiling brightly.

"What happened?" Hadrian asked without preamble.

"I think we have some sort of celebrity in house," she said in a confessing tone, "There's a man out there, dressed like a movie star and accompanied by 4 bodyguards. And he's gorgeous too."

"God save us all from women and their hormones," Hadrian said, only half-jokingly as he turned back to his pot of boiling water. And here he thought that something extraordinary had happened.

Hadrian yelped in surprise when a hand suddenly grabbed his elbow, making him turn around. He did so, a frown marring his features as he glared at his assailant.

"Really Jennifer? I'm busy."

"Oh come on," Jennifer pleaded, "Come have a look. You're bisexual right? I'm sure you'll appreciate the view. Besides, Mr. Wayne is accompanying him. Don't you want to know what that is all about?"

"Bruce is here?" Hadrian asked in surprise. The last he heard about Bruce was that the man had been busy negotiating some kind of acquisition. A big part of that negotiation involved wining and dining the clients before they can get any ideas of going with another company. Apparently, Stark Industries had also made their interest known in this particular matter. "What is he doing here?"

"Why don't you go look?" Jennifer encouraged, "I'll keep an eye on the pot. Don't worry about it."

"Jennifer," Hadrian started a little hesitantly, "You're one of the only people I know that can actually burn water."

"Don't worry boss," Jimmy piped up, smirking at Jennifer, "Go ahead. I'll keep her in line."

Outnumbered, Hadrian sighed in resignation and headed towards the door, the sound of bickering trailing behind him.

* * *

**26 September 2010**

**Castle, New York**

"So what do you think of the décor?" Bruce asked, looking intently at Carlos, mentally cursing the man for having such a wonderful poker face.

"It's nice," Carlos said while his brother beamed at Bruce.

"I can't wait to try out the food. Do you think we can also meet the chef?"

"I don't know," Bruce replied, but cut himself off when he recognized a very familiar figure heading towards them. "On second thought…Hadrian, what are you doing out of the kitchens?"

As Hadrian drew close, Carlos' four bodyguards moved aside to let him pass, knowing without being told that he was allowed to. Bruce noticed from the corner of the eye the way Carlos straightened in his seat, his expression turning to something other than polite boredom. He frowned, wondering just what was going on in the other man's head.

"Your guest has been causing quite the raucous with his movie star good looks and all – Jennifer's words and not mine," Hadrian said dryly, "And since I knew you are supposed to be extremely busy today, I was curious as to why you are here rather than in Gotham City.

"This is Carlos and his brother Cyrus," Bruce introduced, gesturing to the two men one after another, "They are here on a visit and wanted to try Castle's food."

"That's not really answering my question," Hadrian replied before turning towards the other two men. "Hadrian Potter, at your service."

Bruce smiled as Hadrian took Cyrus' hand in his, gave it a good shake and let go. Then he turned towards Carlos, hand outstretched once more.

What happened next was something Bruce couldn't explain. One moment Hadrian was standing there, waiting for the other man to accept his handshake and the next, he was on the ground unconscious as people started screaming for medical help.

All the while, Carlos gaped, staring at his hand as if he was seeing it for the first time.

* * *

**26 September 2010**

**New York**

Loki's eyes snapped open as a wave of concentrated magic coursed through his body, making him almost breathless with the sensation.

"Loki?" Thor questioned in concern as Loki gasped, "What is happening?"

"Someone in this city has just let off a lot of magical energy," he said, trying to focus his mind so he can pinpoint the source of the disturbance, "I think Fate has finally smiled upon us."

"You think it's the child of the prophecy?" Thor asked eagerly, eyes intent on Loki.

"Yes I do," the God replied, "I do not know what had caused this "explosion" for lack of a better word, but I do believe that only the Child chosen by magic itself can have this much power to dispense."

He smirked in triumph as he succeeded in pinpointing the exact source.

"Let us go," he said, "Let's hope no one gets there before we do."

* * *

**26 September 2010**

**New York**

Carlos Juan Abalos prided himself for being a rather knowledgeable young man. He was intelligent and well read; his experiences making him a rather difficult person to shock. But even he had to admit that this was the first time something so out of the ordinary has happened.

"Who on earth are you Hadrian?" he asked the unconscious young man lying on the bed in front of him and, of course, getting no response. Carlos closed his eyes, remembering the events that had led to this moment. The wave of pure magic that had come off the small body of his future consort, the moment their hands had touched, was something that Carlos hadn't thought possible. Not only had he not expected Hadrian to possess any magic at all – his visions were limited in that way – but also how someone could have so much inside him and not go crazy with it all confused Carlos.

"The doctor doesn't know what is wrong with him," Bruce said tiredly as he came back in to the room, "None of his scans seemed to indicate any trauma."

_Of course they won't show any trauma, _Carlos thought to himself, _there's nothing physically wrong with Hadrian._

For a moment, Carlos pondered about ways to get a Healer here without revealing too much to Bruce when the door opened once more and two tall figures came in.

The taller of the two was blond, dressed in a fashionable jacket and tight leather pants. The only thing out of the ordinary with him was the giant hammer he held in one hand. He was extremely good-looking – more so then most people Carlos had met, but it was the shorter one, however, that drew Carlos' attention. The way he held himself, the way he regarded Carlos with that smirk playing on his lips, sent a shiver of excitement threw the Prince's body. He didn't have to have any supernatural power to know that this man was dangerous; a predator; a master manipulator like himself. And if there was one thing that turned him on like nothing else, it was danger.

"Are you acquaintances of Hadrian's?" He asked, coming forward to intercept them.

"My brother knows what is wrong with him," the blond one said as the dark haired one gave Carlos a subtle once over. He didn't say anything, but Carlos could bet his entire fortune that whoever he was, he could feel Carlos' magic and liked what he felt.

"Let them pass," Bruce said to Carlos' immense surprise. He knew that Bruce and Hadrian was close, based on his conversation with the billionaire, so he would have thought Bruce would protest at the appearance of strangers when Hadrian was so vulnerable.

But nonetheless, with Bruce's permission, Carlos stepped aside and let the duo approach the bed.

The blond one moved to stand near Carlos while the darker haired one leaned down over Hadrian, one hand extended towards the teen. For a moment, he closed his eyes and concentrated, one hand on Hadrian's forehead. Carlos could feel the thrum of magic echoing around the room as they waited for the verdict.

"What happened before he fell unconscious?" the darker haired man spoke for the first time, his voice a low drawl.

"I shook his hand," replied Carlos, stepping forward. "Then he just fainted."

"It seems that contact with someone whose magic is compatible to his accelerated the disintegration of the block put upon him as a child," the dark haired man explained, eyes never leaving Hadrian. At the word magic, Carlos eyes immediately turned towards Bruce, but the man didn't look surprised at all, instead continued to stare at the bed with a blank expression.

_Hmm…now that is interesting._

"How can we get him to wake up?" Carlos asked, turning his attention back to the magic-user in front of him.

"We will need to stabilize his magic," the other answered, "Since you are the only one compatible for the moment, you will have to bond with him."

"You got to be kidding me," Carlos said, eyes wide. Bonding was something sacred in his family. Everyone knew that you don't bond unless you are certain that you are willing to spend the rest of your life with that person. Although he had seen Hadrian as his consort in one of his visions, he was nowhere near ready to bond with him. If he did so right now, his parents would strangle him and he would let them.

"Loki," the blond spoke up, finally putting a name to the other's face, "This is a lot to ask. I believe that Midgardians regard bonding as something that can only happen between two romantic partners."

Loki made a face at that; his thoughts on that particular social norm clear.

"Then what are we supposed to do? He'll never wake up with his magic so out of control. He'll go crazy. And reestablishing the block is out of the question now that it is broken."

"What about you?" the blond tried, "The fact you were able to diagnose him with your limited powers, doesn't that mean you are compatible on some level?"

This made Loki stop short.

"Yes," he finally said, "You are right Thor. I hadn't realized the implications until now. I will bond with him."

"This is to help him control his powers and not to manipulate him for your own gain," Thor warned him, eyes blazing with an indescribable emotion.

Loki rolled his eyes, waving Thor's concerns away.

"Yes, yes. Now let me concentrate so I can get this done as painlessly as possible."

* * *

**25 September 2010 **

**Hogwarts, Scotland**

Headmaster Dumbledore was in the middle of a rather interesting conversation regarding defensive shields when the sudden whirling of his numerous warning devices stopped him mid-word.

"What is going on here?" Minerva asked, eyes darting towards the shelf. Out of the 15 little gadgets Dumbledore had on display, 10 of them were going off like crazy; flashing their lights and emitting high-pitched warning sounds.

"Huge energy spike," the Headmaster said in surprise, quickly taking out his wand and casting a series of diagnostic spells, "Extremely potent as well. I wonder what has caused it."

"Does it have a magical signature?" Minerva questioned, coming closer to observe the unusual scene, "Where is it coming from?"

"It's coming from our friends across the sea," Albus answered, reading the results of his diagnosis. He froze however, eyes wide, heart pounding when he got to the part regarding the magical signature.

"No," he gasped, staggering back, "No."

"Albus?" Minerva said, concern coloring her tone, "What is it?"

Albus didn't reply, mouth open like a fish out of water.

"Albus!" Minerva repeated, now starting to sound frantic, "What is going on?"

Dumbledore ignored her; ignored the hand she had put on his shoulder to stabilize him and ignored the numerous calls of his name to get his attention.

"It couldn't be," he said softly, almost to himself.

_Harry James Potter._

* * *

**TBC**

**A/N: **Asgardians have a different view of bonding than Midgardians. Midgardians may believe that a person can only have a single bond, but Asgardians believe that one person can have multiple bonds and not all has to do with romance.

So Harry's power finally made a big mess; Loki agreed to bond with him to stabilize his core enough for him to wake up. Although a bond is somewhat permanent, this has nothing to do with romance. Loki saw this as an opportunity to gain power and to circumvent his own restrictions. After they bonded, Loki will have access to a small amount of Harry's magic - earth magic - which Odin doesn't really have control over. Harry will also be changed by the bond, but the effects won't show immediately. A bond also means that they can communicate mentally. Loki will also be able to see through Harry's eyes. It will be fun to see how things goes with that little addition.

Although Carlos had visions of Harry being his consort, he's more interested in Loki right now because he sees Loki as dark and dangerous and that excites him. Remember, the future is always changing so a vision isn't guaranteed to come true if you decide on other courses of action.

Next chapter: Harry wakes up and people get to explain to him what happened. Also, Dumbledore and Company are finally taking a more active role.

Should Harry go to Hogwarts? What is up with Bruce? Well, stick around and you'll find out.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to review. See you soon.


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